By Ben Guthrie/Adam Vaughan
VIC COUNTRY coach Rob Hyde believes this year’s squad of players is the best he has seen during his three years stint as the Country side’s coach.
Hyde’s Vic Country side proved to be too strong, overcoming Vic Metro in an accurate showcase, winning 14.6.90 to Vic Metro 11.8.74 at Skilled Stadium to conclude the first round of the NAB Under 18 Championship on Sunday.
“This is easily the best group of players I have coached since I began three years ago,” Hyde said.
“It isn’t so much the quality of the players that makes it the best, it is the depth that we have had. We could freely rotate numerous players through the midfield and they all did the job.”
“We had very much a team focus during the lead up to the match and I thought the boys did well today and executed the team plan.”
Hyde found it hard to single out individuals who performed well but complimented captain Andrew Hooper, who controlled the drive from the half back line.
“I thought Andrew was brilliant today,” Hyde said.
“He just led from the front all day and was excellent across that half back line.
Hooper finished as best-on-ground honours, roaming across the half-back line to finish the match with 26 disposals, nine rebound 50s and took four contested marks.
Potential top draft-pick, John Butcher, finished with three goals and looked dangerous in the air for Country, however, the 197 centimetre forward was kept in check for most of the game by Oakleigh Chargers defender Josh Purcell, who conceded 10 centimetres in the much anticipated contest.
Fellow Chargers team mate Sam Shaw was Metro’s best with his athleticism and strong marking a feature for the match.
The 191 centimetre utility looked strong in contests and weaved through heavy congestion to drive Metro into attack.
Potential No.1 pick Tom Scully was quiet early but worked his way into the game in the second half to finish with a game-high 33 possessions.
Scully’s influence lifted Metro and his hard running and penetrating left foot led Metro’s revival in the second half, which saw last year’s carnival champions get within six points at one stage during the third term.
Metro’s coach Rohan Welsh said a change in the team’s intensity was the reason by the second half improvements.
“Our work rate in the third quarter really got us back into the game,” Welsh said.
“We started to win the footy around the stoppages. With (Dylan) Jones and Scully in the midfield, Jonesy started to get his hands on the footy at the centre bounce and we started to really get it going forward.”
Welsh added that Metro turned the ball over too easily and that decision making was lacking.
He also said Metro were lacking in “quality talls” and pointed to Knights player Tom Hill as a possible addition into the team.
Metro get a chance to regroup against NSW/ACT, while Country will attempt to continue on the winning way against Tasmania in the next round.
Metro vs Country
Final Score:
Country Metro
14.6.90 def 11.8.74
Goals:
Metro: Hoegel 2, Fitzpatrick 2, Moore 2, Carlisle 2, Hicks, McKenzie, Scott
Country: Butcher 3, Cunnington 3, Keath 2, Lehman 2, Martin, Page, Christensen, Priest, Page
Best:
Metro: Shaw, Scully, Moore, Gaff, Hoegel, Jones, Purcell
Country: Hooper, Martin, Cunnington, Vardy, Stevens, Rohan
